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storyorc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Great to see backstory and bonding from these characters I've grown fond of while reading Hellboy but the plots lacked the usual intriguing weirdness.
mrswhiteinthelibrary's review
3.0
So the idea is simple: Hellboy left a bunch of interesting characters behind and other writers, with good reason, wanted to explore how they were faring without him. This is a really fun addition to the series and greater mythology of Hellboy's world. This is an anthology volume filled with folklore-based mysteries and mayhem of varying quality. The title piece is probably the best offering in this anthology, with a fun adventure that also expounds on the subtle but very present romantic tension between Hellboy's former sidekicks Abe Sapien and Liz Sherman as well as introducing the fascinatingly... ectoplasmic... character, Johann Krauss and expanding the personality of Roger the homunculus, who was central to a handful of Hellboy stories before dropping out of the title (with the rest of the BPRD), but never fully developed. Another interesting addition to this collection is that it presents a fun flashback story, "The Killer in my Skull" introducing the active days of pulp vigilante Lobster Johnson, which alone is worth the price of admission as he is, admittedly, one of the coolest characters Mignola created. The artwork, as the writing, varies, notable in the last piece, "Drums of the Dead" with it's harsh line work and color, while the title piece "Hollow Earth" harkens to Mignola's own use of shadow and minimalism.
While Mignola himself is not present in these pages, his influence is clearly obvious, and each offering here is respectful to his world and a must-read for fans of his work.
While Mignola himself is not present in these pages, his influence is clearly obvious, and each offering here is respectful to his world and a must-read for fans of his work.
wrath1776's review
4.0
If you love Hellboy and that universe, you'll love this. It's great to see the other characters in the spotlight.
It wasn't written by Mike Mignola, though. So that was kind of a bummer. It's odd for him to be taking a backseat but the quality was nearly the same. Clearly not as in depth with folklore, 1920's European culture or history. Mignola does such great research and it really adds a level of detail and depth to his work so that was missed.
Overall, still high quality and my love for Hellboy makes this a biased 4/5 hogs.
It wasn't written by Mike Mignola, though. So that was kind of a bummer. It's odd for him to be taking a backseat but the quality was nearly the same. Clearly not as in depth with folklore, 1920's European culture or history. Mignola does such great research and it really adds a level of detail and depth to his work so that was missed.
Overall, still high quality and my love for Hellboy makes this a biased 4/5 hogs.
thelaurakremer's review
4.0
I didn't care for the art of the last tale Drums of the Dead. But otherwise yay!
pdz's review
4.0
It's very hard for me to not like things Mike Mignola's involved with.
And, at this point, I can't even remember if I've already read Hollow Earth before.
This short collection of stories is the first batch of Mignola's non-Hellboy B.P.R.D. comics. Something I guess I didn't realize until the last B.P.R.D. collection I read is that other folks often draw these. The art in the first story mimics Mignola's style really well. The story is great as usual. The characters are lovable as ever.
I guess if we're looking for something critical to be said, it's that it gets a little wordy at parts. I loved the bit where Hellboy grabs Abe out of the tank and tells the scientists that they've done enough testing.
The short Lobster Johnson story is fantastic.
For me the weakest of the bunch was the final story, but it's only that I so much prefer the drawing style of the other comics. Not that the drawing was bad in the last issue, it's just something different from the regular Hellboy art I love.
The little paragraphs and descriptions of the comics I actually found to be interesting, too. This is often not the case for me.
Start here if you're reading B.P.R.D. stuff. Johann gets introduced and Roger and Abe are great. Liz too, of course.
And, at this point, I can't even remember if I've already read Hollow Earth before.
This short collection of stories is the first batch of Mignola's non-Hellboy B.P.R.D. comics. Something I guess I didn't realize until the last B.P.R.D. collection I read is that other folks often draw these. The art in the first story mimics Mignola's style really well. The story is great as usual. The characters are lovable as ever.
I guess if we're looking for something critical to be said, it's that it gets a little wordy at parts. I loved the bit where Hellboy grabs Abe out of the tank and tells the scientists that they've done enough testing.
The short Lobster Johnson story is fantastic.
For me the weakest of the bunch was the final story, but it's only that I so much prefer the drawing style of the other comics. Not that the drawing was bad in the last issue, it's just something different from the regular Hellboy art I love.
The little paragraphs and descriptions of the comics I actually found to be interesting, too. This is often not the case for me.
Start here if you're reading B.P.R.D. stuff. Johann gets introduced and Roger and Abe are great. Liz too, of course.
zipperbee's review
3.0
Would've been a 4, but I really disliked the last chapter: Drums of the Dead, so it got downgraded. The art, writing, story, everything about that chapter was blegh.
skolastic's review
4.0
More of a mixed bag than past collections - the title story and the Lobster Johnson story are very good, but the rest is just kind of average Mignola-verse fare. There's definitely a lot of potential here, though.
rabbithero's review
3.0
Not as exciting as Hellboy, and certainly lacking that series' "lightning in a bottle" touch, but it's entertaining regardless, and certainly suggests some interesting things going forward. Worth moving on to volume 2, I think.
booknooknoggin's review
2.0
Not as enjoyable as the Hellboy books that I have read, and these fast paced stories really seemed to lack something. The stories seem to go at such a fast pace that they didn't really develop into a great story for me. Was it the lack of Hellboy for me not liking these? Perhaps...